NEWTON — Springfield native Maria Greenberg said there haven’t been any police officers knocking on her door, but the atmosphere in locked down Newton is “odd” because the streets are empty except for zooming police cruisers.

“It’s just a ghost town,” she said. “There are no businesses open, no people driving or walking around. I walked my dog because she had to do her business and it was so odd, so eerie. It’s the weirdest feeling.” Greenberg said she found out about the manhunt and lockdown at 6:30 a.m. when her brother, who also lives in Boston, called her. She turned on the TV and has been watching the news ever since.

“In the morning, when we first heard the news, it was scary because things happened just blocks away and they didn’t know where he was,” she said. “But now it seems like they have isolated the area where they think he is. So now, we’re just waiting.”

Her 13-year-old son slept over at a friend’s house in Newton last night, so he is going to have to wait there until the lockdown is lifted. She said that she worries about how the chaos and tragedy of the events in Boston this week have affected children.

“It’s been awful for everyone, it’s tragic and surreal and emotionally draining,” she said. “It’s even harder on kids, they must have so many fears. It must feel like the world is ending.”